The present invention relates to a powerless lockable UFD system and a method for securely protecting information stored and retrieved on UFDs (USB flash drives) that does not require electric power in order to enter a password to the UFD.
UFDs are well-known in the art of digital computing as devices for portable storage of digital data. As UFDs become more popular, they are increasingly being used for storage of private and confidential information. The likelihood of small UFDs being lost, stolen, or accidentally exchanged is significant. The two factors cited above create a major information security problem, where confidential information can be accessed by unauthorized users. Solutions that improve the security of information on UFDs are well-known in the art, and include encryption, password protection, and biometric identification methods.
Additional solutions to this security problem have been offered, such as physical locking of the UFD (U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/318,473). A representative family of solutions to this problem is using a combination lock that is part of the UFD. The UFD is rendered operational only if the right combination is set on the combination lock. This family of solutions has an inherent advantage compared to other types of solutions. They relieve the user from having to deal with security issues after the UFD has been inserted into its host system. Other methods, such as entering a password through the host system or decryption of files on the UFD, require the user to interact with the UFD, through the host system, after it has been inserted into the host system. This is both a burden to the user, and a security hazard as the host system may be programmed to trace and capture the information retrieved from the UFD.
State-of-the-art systems, that allow a user to independently unlock a UFD apart from a host system, are all electromechanical and require a power source, typically a battery. While this is not a major problem, as the power consumption is small relative to the battery capacity, it is a risk, as the user may not tolerate a depleted battery depriving him from his information. Furthermore, including a battery would also increase product cost and complexity.
It would be desirable to have a system for locking and unlocking UFDs in which the lock can be unlocked while the UFD is separated from the host system, and without the need for an electric power source.